WEST JORDAN, Utah-Mountain America Credit Union hasn't put in place one Best Practice as much as it has installed Best Practices across the enterprise.
The $2.9-billion credit union has initiated efforts to improve practices in areas ranging from information technology to mortgages to compliance to a Medicare education program.
"Overall, our goal is to improve the experience for the members and each of these initiatives reflect that," said EVP/COO Nathan Anderson. "Either we want to better train our staff or make things go smoother for our members."
CIO/EVP Alex Barker said that, not surprisingly, cost reduction has been a major motivator. "Sometimes we were sending out paper items so it made more sense and cost less money to do things electronically."
Anderson said one of the most important developments was an opt-in program in response to changes to Regulation E.
"We went into Reg E fearing we would see a substantial reduction in our income," he noted. "We made sure every one of our members was educated about the product before the mandatory opt-out date. They chose, not the government or Mountain America choosing for them. We saw an increase in income once this was in place."
Barker added MACU understood Reg E required action on a member's part and knew the process had to be easy.
"We made sure it was available through any method, including over the phone, by e-mail or text message, in branches or at the drive-through at the branch," Barker said. "Many credit unions used mail, which we did also, but that is probably the most expensive and most cumbersome way."
The greatest response from membership to a new program, however, has been to instant card issuance in branches. Anderson noted when a member has a lost or stolen card and has to wait six to 10 days for a new card, it is a "huge inconvenience."
On the other hand, "when a member can visit a branch and walk out with a new card not only is that better for the member, it is a competitive advantage for us because it meets a need others are not meeting," he declared. "Also, members were able to select their own image on the card. Members appreciate that customization and having a say in what it looks like. We have 20 or 30 choices or they can use their own image."
Paperless Mortgage Close
Anderson said MACU's paperless mortgage close likewise has made an impact. He noted that he personally went through the closing process when the credit union introduced the program and found it was a "particularly different experience."
"It used to be an hour and a half of writer's cramp signing a huge stack of documents," he pointed out. "Instead, the members can take the time to review each document. At the end it takes eight to 10 minutes. There is one signature on a digital signature pad, confirmation by a notary, then the digital signature is applied to every document."
Anderson said Mountain America was one of the first to offer paperless mortgage closing in its market. This has allowed MACU to generate business from various title companies in the area.
Mountain America Credit Union has initiated a host of other changes, as well. Indeed, its submission to Credit Union Journal's call for entries for Best Practices ran some 13 pages. Subscribers can review those other Best Practices and the steps the credit union took to install them, along with results, at www.cujournal.com by searching the keywords "MACU Best Practices."
